Lumia 950/950XL flagships design - like it or not?

[RafRol]

The definition of flagship is ": the best, largest, or most important one of a group of things (such as products, stores, etc.)." This is from webstercom. Once these phones are available for sale, they WILL be the flagships because there are no other Windows Phone better or more important than them.

There are those that could care less about design. Design is external. You can have a premium feeling and well 'designed' device and end up with a Lumia 830. I like the 830, I bought one for each of my parents (it is way more than enough phone for them) but to me it's a midrange device. Why? The chips inside. You see, it's what's on the inside that really counts. These new Lumia's that you don't consider 'flagship' are indeed the real thing. The specs will compete with anything out there and that is what matters. You disagree? Well you don't see the Lumia 830 competing well with other midrange devices (let alone 'flagships') and it isn't because of the price. If you want it all (aesthetics and hardware), then there are many options other than these Lumias. But if you want the best Windows 10 for Mobile experience, than these devices will deliver. 'Design' will not detract from anything that Windows 10 for Mobile will offer.

I like to use cars as a comparison often. You sounded like you were expecting a fully loaded Cadillac CTS Vsport sedan, but you find out that the car you were waiting for ends up being a Chevrolet. As it turns out, this is no ordinary Chevy. It's the 2016 Chevrolet SS sports sedan. The engine, suspension, and electronics give you the same performance as the aesthetically designed Caddy. 400+ horse-power? Check. Electronic limited-slip differential? Check. Brembo brakes? Check. Stabilitrack, Magnetic Ride Control, Automatic Parking Assist and OnStar??? Check, Check, Check, Check.

I find that people who are so focused on the look of something as opposed to function and utility of it are typically superficial. If you want the Cadillac than go look for it. I'll be happy and more than content driving the Chevy SS.

 

[Sher Allen]

I think people just need to see these devices at more angles and in real life.

When I look at this I think meh:



But then I look at this and I think woah!:



Does the second one make it look better to anyone else? Because out of all the pics it definitely caught my eye and made me go wow that's nice looking! Needless to say, I will definitely be getting a 950 in white.

So I say to everyone who doesn't like it- wait until it comes out and you can look at it in real life before completely writing it off.

 

[Marko Marjanovic]

Wpc explained why ,,cheep looking phones" flagships and i'm ok with it. Phones are amazing. Spec are amazing. I like them, but don't have money.

 

[TheLumaniac]

I don't understand why everyone is so obsessed with the appearance of these phones. They have the best specs and features of any WP ever released. They push so many of my buttons I'd but them now if they were available.

Most people, you know the ones that buy iPhones and Androids, don't care about specs. They only care about the looks. Yeah, it doesn't make much sense, but that's how things are. These people are not going to bother with this phone. The specs are good. But they don't care. They care about the appearance. And the 950 does not look as good as it should.

 

[Rose640]

Most people, you know the ones that buy iPhones and Androids, don't care about specs. They only care about the looks. Yeah, it doesn't make much sense, but that's how things are. These people are not going to bother with this phone. The specs are good. But they don't care. They care about the appearance. And the 950 does not look as good as it should.

Not everyone is a ******. I have friends who liked my 640 the first time i showed it to them, and they're a long time Android users. Now i don't know about the iPhone, cause it's not so popular here, even WP has more market share here i guess.

 

[aXross]

For me, thing here is that they're starting to look a bit dull, uninspired looking devices. They don't look ugly but they don't look anything spectacular either or they don't give anything "wow" with it. Not because of their materials whether its a plastic, metal or combination of both. Its a matter of how the device have identity, character and uniqueness that makes it Lumia and don't look too close with everything else.

It looks bit ordinary in a way, though the camera might look different but nothing much anymore at the front and sides. The looks of these flagships in general looks like a cousin of some Android mid-range out there in the sea of smartphones out there. This looks doesn't make a standout and Microsoft needs phone that at least people to look at and be curious. Another part of the problem is they only offer them with black and white, just like majority of phones out there. So what's special about the appearance that consumers might turn their heads with? Lumia used to be at least looks pop, unique and iconic, its nothing like else in the market, or anything close to it.

So it only lefts with features and specs, which are great anyways. The nice spec that it has looks attractive for those consumers who are aware of what Snapdragon is, what RAM is. Mostly they only know about megapixel count but that still left to impress the actual image quality, which I still believe Lumia does. But also that leaves if the camera is fast enough among the competition, which is we didn't know at the moment but for now Lumia is arguably one of the best image quality but worst at camera performance.

About other features like Continuum, consumers don't know what this even means for them unless explained. It will sound cool but doesn't mean they want or need it. Especially the fact that there is not much good quality Universal Apps at the moment to be really useful. Iris-Scanner is cool feature for consumers, but that alone doesn't make the device sell a lot. For most, their traditional pattern-lock and pin lock is totally enough for them, so Iris-scanner is more like a bonus and cool feature to have.

So specs and features are indeed great but without great looks (not average), then its still hard to gain market, it will sell a lot of units of course but its hard to expect some significant number with these flagships they're about to release. Looks is still pretty important factor as equal to specs and features for flagship especially for a brand that needs marketshare. Though still its not even a promise they will gain a lot anyways but at least it shows their very best effort especially for its fans and users to give confidence to stay on the platform, not to loose set of users that is already low on marketshare. Who knows if the looks are great which completes the package, it would get a good press especially when accompanied by competitive price.

Oh yeah, regardless of its looks the price really have to be competitive. So best avoid near Apple-like pricing.

 

[erfanjafar]

Just like the iphone has a wide variety of colors to choose from. They finally introduced a rose gold.

As stated earlier. These clearly are flagships. I don't know how often can repeat this before it finally sinks in. These specs are awesome... apple probably wont introduce these types of specs in their phones for another year or two.

When apple comes out with a Continuum type option... people are going to go crazy, saying it's revolutionary and that apple was the first one to do such a thing like nfc.

History repeats itself.

With almost the same specs, I'm still leaning towards the 950. I'll most likely end up getting a case since that's what I do when I get a new phone. Who knows, I'll probably use the chrome ring to reflect sunlight into people's eyes.

mythos13: how does not having other color choices automatically relegate them as midrange? I'd like to see midrange phones beat those specs.

Now I want to buy the 950 just to reflect light on peoples eyes

 

[alexx17]

i like it i could literally not drool more over the xl. and no the plastic is not a problem
with that its easy to replace

 

[illy khan]

The definition of flagship is ": the best, largest, or most important one of a group of things (such as products, stores, etc.)." This is from webstercom. Once these phones are available for sale, they WILL be the flagships because there are no other Windows Phone better or more important than them.

There are those that could care less about design. Design is external. You can have a premium feeling and well 'designed' device and end up with a Lumia 830. I like the 830, I bought one for each of my parents (it is way more than enough phone for them) but to me it's a midrange device. Why? The chips inside. You see, it's what's on the inside that really counts. These new Lumia's that you don't consider 'flagship' are indeed the real thing. The specs will compete with anything out there and that is what matters. You disagree? Well you don't see the Lumia 830 competing well with other midrange devices (let alone 'flagships') and it isn't because of the price. If you want it all (aesthetics and hardware), then there are many options other than these Lumias. But if you want the best Windows 10 for Mobile experience, than these devices will deliver. 'Design' will not detract from anything that Windows 10 for Mobile will offer.

I like to use cars as a comparison often. You sounded like you were expecting a fully loaded Cadillac CTS Vsport sedan, but you find out that the car you were waiting for ends up being a Chevrolet. As it turns out, this is no ordinary Chevy. It's the 2016 Chevrolet SS sports sedan. The engine, suspension, and electronics give you the same performance as the aesthetically designed Caddy. 400+ horse-power? Check. Electronic limited-slip differential? Check. Brembo brakes? Check. Stabilitrack, Magnetic Ride Control, Automatic Parking Assist and OnStar??? Check, Check, Check, Check.

I find that people who are so focused on the look of something as opposed to function and utility of it are typically superficial. If you want the Cadillac than go look for it. I'll be happy and more than content driving the Chevy SS.

In our days, a flagship phones became also fashion accessories to most of us.
Must be with best specs and functionality but also and maybe must important - the look. The design. Thats why also flagships are also most expensive in their producer line.
You speak about specs. What is best? We have SD808 and Sd810 a lot of devices out there. Check!
Not to mentioned thst this phone will came earliest in end of October, but most probably some in November. Even now this CPU isn't something WOW, exept with overheating issues. Check!
Functionality - i hope to be at least on par with Windows mobile 8.1, but till now the Windows 10 is chunkymand slow. A lot of crashes and the time is running. Too many things must be fixed. Check!
You like comparisons with cars. Ok. Let me make one for you - imagine a midranged Opel Astra from beginning of 21 century with all extras from last years and latest BMW engine ON THE PRICE OF LAST BMW MODEL. Did you got it?
Check!

 

[Marty89]

I'm sure that W10 will run perfectly on 950/XL. Remember iPhones. The new version of iOS runs perfectly on new iPhones but not so much on the older ones. So new phones are safe, but for the old ones there's still a lot of time needed for optimizations.

 

[mariusmuntean]

I'm sure that W10 will run perfectly on 950/XL. Remember iPhones. The new version of iOS runs perfectly on new iPhones but not so much on the older ones. So new phones are safe, but for the old ones there's still a lot of time needed for optimizations.

well, Apple can afford that, MS at this point cannot.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ben Schmidt1]

I'm sure that W10 will run perfectly on 950/XL. Remember iPhones. The new version of iOS runs perfectly on new iPhones but not so much on the older ones. So new phones are safe, but for the old ones there's still a lot of time needed for optimizations.

Since when has the new IOS ever run perfectly when first released? Even on new iphones?

 

[ScubaDog]

I absolutely rely on wireless charging. In fact, I bought the Qi shell for my 1020 so I could get that back. I hate metal devices. I adore the look of the 920 and 1020, devices like the 635 look cheap specifically because they can be opened and have uninspired shaping.

 

[ScubaDog]

They will be also-rans because other devices out there have similar or competitive specs (or better). Again, as far as I'm concerned, a 20mp camera is subpar compared to the 41mp camera.

 

[peachy001]

I'm a big fan of the 920 and 1020. I got two wireless chargers, and kept them in the boxes for nearly a year. I even tried to sell one on here but fell foul of the rules, so ended up keeping it. In the end, I thought I would hook one up, just to try it. Used it every evening since, truly underrated feature. Not a fan of metal either. Luckily the xl is growing on me. I sincerely hope that MS has the sense to get loads of demo/dummy units into the shops. I need to feel it first. Jumping from my 920 to the xl may be a leap too far.

 

[peachy001]

They will be also-rans because other devices out there have similar or competitive specs (or better). Again, as far as I'm concerned, a 20mp camera is subpar compared to the 41mp camera.

I hear you, and in many ways, I agree. However, the market previously did not care too much for mega megapixels previously. The 1020 was a belter when it came out, but didn't unseat any of the big sellers. I suspect that many here would happily take a 1050, that had a 5.2 screen, 808 processor and 3 GB of RAM. MS could slightly update the camera module and hey presto, 1020 have an upgrade. Wait for the Snapdragon 820, and it will be great.

My 920 takes nice shots, somewhat surpassed now, but ok. The move to 20mp is not something I am clamouring for, but I will take it. Speed of shot and file size is more important to me than more pixels.

 

[TechAbstract]

What didn't help Lumia 1020 was it stuck on one carrier. I wish they release Lumia 950 to all carriers. At least do enough advertising that people demand the phone, then the carriers would want to carry it.

 

[Bondte]

I don't understand a lot of replies here. What are your standards when looking for a new phone? I just have to like the os, which is in constant development. Screen size for my needs. Functionality for every day use. Apart from this I give a rats a** for materials or looks, it goes in a case anyway.

Yes, the camera button on my 1320 is in an annoying place, but I learned to deal with it. Yes, WM10 is not perfect, nor is 8.1, but at least it's in constant development. Yes, I am old school and actually still miss the old blackberries, but WP is so easy and functional too.

Again, what is so indispensably missing with the current WP, let alone those who still have to come out?

 

[nukesheart1520]

for me the 'looks' of the phone is really important..I want it to be a 'statement' and something that stands out. Looking at my almost 2year-old 1520 still gives me that 'smile' I get from looking at a beautiful device that I own. I'm also attracted to my girlfriend's L830 as much as I'm attracted to her. The looks of the phone gives it the 'emotional' attachment of the user to their device...and the design of Lumias is what keeps me from getting new Lumias since Lumia800. I hated Samsung before because their phones (S4, S5) looked 'cheap and ugly' but right now I'm drooling over S6 Edge+ (but don't need to buy a new phone right now).

Still I don't see anything special about 950/950xl in terms of the design..but maybe if they throw in colorful replaceable shells or when we actually hold them in real life, just maybe, I'll consider upgrading to the 950XL

 

[illy khan]

I don't understand a lot of replies here. What are your standards when looking for a new phone? I just have to like the os, which is in constant development. Screen size for my needs. Functionality for every day use. Apart from this I give a rats a** for materials or looks, it goes in a case anyway.

Yes, the camera button on my 1320 is in an annoying place, but I learned to deal with it. Yes, WM10 is not perfect, nor is 8.1, but at least it's in constant development. Yes, I am old school and actually still miss the old blackberries, but WP is so easy and functional too.

Again, what is so indispensably missing with the current WP, let alone those who still have to come out?

The design. That's the topic. The design of new flagships.
You like big screens - your choice.
You like cases - your choice.
You don't give a damn about the look - your choice.
From what you saying i think that 640xl is perfect for you. Or new blackberry.
Everyone have right to choose.